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Disaster early warning for individuals with special needs

John C. Scott
Center for Public Service Communications, 5315 Lee Highway, Arlington, Virginia 22207, USA.
Tel. : +1-703-536-5642, Fax: +1-703-536-5652,
E-mail: jcscott@cpsc.com

Abstract:
The focus of this paper will be to raise issues relative to effectively providing important information about warnings of natural disasters to individuals requiring special telecommunications and information technology accommodation.

Individuals requiring such special accommodation include those who are hard of hearing and deaf, those who are blind, persons physically and mentally disabled, and the elderly. In aggregate, they make up a significant portion of any society. Some may require modifications to the warning messages and some may need special assistive technologies to receive warnings.

This paper will explore the technologies which have been developed to meet the needs of members of society whose needs have frequently been overlooked. It will also identify applications that are proving effective. Also discussed will be public policy issues that have arisen as individuals with special needs and their respective advocacy groups seek redress of this situation.